


Salvation

by Stella_Luna777



Series: The Silver Reaper [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, BAMF Hatake Kakashi, BAMF Uchiha Mikoto, F/M, Fluff, Good Orochimaru (Naruto), Good Uchiha Itachi, Good Uchiha Obito, Hatake Kakashi Has Issues, Hatake Kakashi Needs a Hug, Hatake Kakashi-centric, Protective Hatake Kakashi, Protective Uchiha Sasuke, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 03:14:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29307096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stella_Luna777/pseuds/Stella_Luna777
Summary: He thought that it was over, that he was finally allowed to rest, but just like so many things in life it proved to be a short-lived dream.Kakashi Hatake, Konoha's Silver Reaper, Clan heir of the Hatake Clan, youngest Commander in history and hailed as a once-in-a-century-prodigy as well as the Savior of Konohagakure, had been dead for thirteen years.Minato Namikaze, deeply affected by the sacrifice of his student, had made every effort to achieve peace so that no one else would have to get hurt. And for a while it looked as if his vision had become true. The Sand and the Rain had become their closets ally whereaas the Rock, the Cloud and the Mist remained neutral towards the Leaf. It wasn't perfect, but it was good.And during all of that, kakashi's greatest wish had become true. He had been finally reunited with his students, his family.But what happens when an enemy rises again? One they had thought of being gone a long time ago?Decisions have to be made, morals have to be betrayed and old wounds have to be opened again.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Mitarashi Anko
Series: The Silver Reaper [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2152521
Comments: 7
Kudos: 57





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the sequel to my other story Atonement. If you haven't read the first part, I'd suggest doing so before reading this one as it won't make much sense otherwise.  
> Also, english is not my first language so there will be grammatical errors as well as spelling errors! I'm doing my best so, please, if you find any point them out politely.  
> Love, Stella

The red-haired Uzumaki ran through the forest, his breathing irregular but he didn't dare stop to catch a breath. No there was no chance for him to rest. His team - 5 of the strongest shinobi Ame had to offer - had all been killed one by one by an unknown enemy and although Nagato was almost invincible with his Rinnegan he felt fear settling in his stomach. His team had been strong, stronger than most, and not even his Rinnegan had been able to spare them from death. So how much could he really do when he'd encounter the enemy? How strong must the unknown person be to defeat them so effortlessly?

Branches and sticks teared on his clothes and left deep scratches on his arms but he didn't care. All that was on his mind was to reach Konoha or Ame before the unknown person caught up to him.

They had been on a classified mission and had retrieved crucial information about something called the Gedo statue - a favour they had done for Orochimaru - and it was something that the enemy couldn't get their hands on.

Unknown to Nagato the enemy wasn't after the knowledge he possessed, if he knew what the person really was after he might have felt even more fear.

The Uzumaki had only touched the ground for the fraction of a section when he was suddenly pulled under and a muffled scream escaped his lips.

With a burst of chakra, he freed himself of the stone prison and kneed panting on the floor. He had been running non-stop for what felt like a week and his chakra was running thin. They had been far, far from the five great shinobi villages to retrieve that information and even if he called for reinforcement now, they wouldn't be here in time. His only options were to either outrun the enemy or take him down. And honestly, none of the options looked very realistic right now. 

Jumping to the side to avoid being trapped again, Nagato quickly went through a set of hand signs. 

"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation," he shouted and set his surroundings on fire. 

If he could just lure out his enemy, then maybe...

Suddenly roots wrapped themselves around his ankles and he was slowly pulled back underground. Gritting his teeth, Nagato tried to free himself again. He trashed around but it was all for nothing, his exhaustion was too great. 

_'I won't die here!'_ he thought determined. 

With the last of his powers, he forced his chakra into his eyes and muttered: "Animal Path: Summoning Giant Centipede.”

A moment later a giant orange centipede appeared and pulled Nagato free from the roots that tried to pull him underground. Exhausted the Uzumaki kneed on top of his summon but he didn't get time to catch his breath since a couple of kunai were immediately flung at him. For a moment it looked like they were able to evade the weapons when all of the sudden the kunai exploded and Nagato and his summon were engulfed by a cloud of smoke. 

Coughing and gasping, Nagato retreated to a tree branch away from the explosion and watched powerlessly as his summon disappeared. Cursing, he tried to stand up again but apparently, he hadn't escaped the explosion as unscratched as he had thought. The proud shinobi had to lean onto a tree to keep standing straight. 

Out of the corner of his eye, his Rinnegan suddenly caught the figure of a plant-like being and Nagato didn't hesitate to attack it.

"Bansho Ten'in"

All of the sudden the figure was pulled into Nagato's direction but shortly before him, it collided with a kunai the Uzumaki had thrown at it and fell to the ground. The weapon had hit his kidney expertly and Nagato let out a relieved breath. A kidney hit was a sure death. 

However, the shinobi had to watch with horrors as the plant-like being scrambled to his feet again all while smirking sadistically at him. Nagato could even see how the spot where his kunai had hit started slowly to grow together again.

"What are you?" he muttered shocked.

He didn't have enough time to feel fear though because suddenly the being was gone from his sight. Hastily Nagato checked his surroundings when a cold shiver ran down his spine and he reluctantly turned his head to look behind himself.

And there was the being. A humanoid black-white plant that smiled sadistically at him with empty yellow eyes and relishing in his fear, knowing full well that it only played with him. Never before had Nagato felt like a prey meeting its predator but this being was like something out of this world. 

Everything turned slow motion when the being stretched out his hand but Nagato was unable to dodge it. 

His hand touched his shoulder and the being whispered: "Temporary Paralysis Technique."

The Uzumaki struggled against the paralysis technique but all he could do was to move his eyes and watch fearful as the being circled him like a predator. 

"So strong but at the same time so weak. It would have been fun seeing you in action when you had lost your mind, but I guess you can't have everything," purred the being and cold sweat covered Nagato's body.

 _'What's he talking about? Me losing my mind?'_ he thought confused.

"You'll make a good addition to Madara-sama’s collection."

_'Madara?!'_

Suddenly the beings' hand was above Nagato's heart, whispering: "All-Killing Ash Bones" and a sharp pain consumed his whole body.

Incredulously, the red-haired shinobi stared at the black bone that pierced his chest until his legs collapsed under him and he hit the ground unhindered. Blood started to fill his throat and he coughed violently only to watch as it turned the grass beneath him deep red. Slowly, it dripped from the corners of his mouth and he suddenly had a heavy feeling in the pit of his stomach when realisation finally hit. 

He wouldn't return home.

Black dots evaded his vision as he stared into the night sky for the last time. Images of his friends appeared before his inner eye, of Konan's smile and Yahiko's laugh, their time with Jiraiya-sama and of the young silver-haired boy that had saved them once. And he was deeply sorry for leaving and hurting them.

Then his vision went dark and he yearned to see the sparkling stars again. Suddenly he felt very light and then he took his last raspy breath before he was gone. A lone tear rolled down his cheek from his empty eyes.

Uncaring about the tragedy that the death of this strong shinobi was, Zetsu leaned over the dead body and harshly pulled out Nagato's Rinnegan eyes, sealing the eyeballs into a container.

Looking at the dead shinobi once more, the plant-like being shrugged his shoulders and sank into the ground again.

"You'll indeed make a great addition and Madara-sama already thanks you for your eyes," Zetsu muttered before leaving the dead body with his empty eye sockets to either to be found by travellers or to be left to rot. He didn't really care. He got what he came for. 

Meanwhile in Konoha, a festival of a different kind took place. 

It was the 10th of October and a day that was incredibly happy as well as very sad for the villagers of Konoha. It was the birthday of their revered fourth Hokage's son Naruto Namikaze but at the same time it was the death day of their late hero Kakashi Hatake. After a few years where the villagers didn't know how to deal with these conflicting emotions, Minato had decided that during the day they would celebrate Naruto's birthday and during the night there would be a ceremony for everyone to thank their hero for his sacrifice.

Right now, the sun began to set, and people slowly walked towards the graveyard where a beautiful grave had been made for Kakashi. It was a happy mood, after all the people were grateful to the late hero and most decided to celebrate their survival instead of mourning his passing. 

But there was a small amount of people that were unable to celebrate.

When the first star appeared on the dark sky everyone had assembled before the small grave.

Most villagers had wanted a large and glorious grave with a large statue of their hero but Kakashi’s friends especially Mikoto, Anko and Orochimaru had protested it. They believed that Kakashi wouldn't have wanted a big gesture and would have been happy with his name being engraved on the memorial stone with all the other shinobi that had left their lives for their village. In the end Minato decided to have a small grave for his student next to his fathers' and close to the memorial stone. It was surrounded by large trees and whenever the sun began to set the place was engulfed by the last golden rays.

Minato stepped in front of the assembled villagers, a small melancholic smile marring his face. It was hard for him. He had lost so much on this day, but he had also gained so much and for that he was eternally grateful to Kakashi.

"We came together today, to thank one of the greatest shinobi that the world has ever seen for his sacrifice," Minato began and gazed over the crowd.

Even after thirteen years every villager - shinobi and civilian alike - had come to this ceremony. It was magnificent.

"Thirteen years ago, an enemy attacked Konoha and released Konoha's bijuu, Kurama the nine-tails. Under the control of that enemy, Kurama attacked our dear village and if it hadn't been for our saviour Kakashi Hatake, Konoha would have been destroyed. A boy not older than thirteen made the ultimate sacrifice for our village and not only sealed Kurama into my son and your jinchuuriki Naruto but also beat the enemy. We own our survival to him."

The villagers were glued to the Yondaimes' lips. The younger generation couldn't really empathise of how helpless the situation had been back then - none of them had ever seen the Kyuubi in his original form - but even so they listened intently to the story. For many Kakashi Hatake was the perfect shinobi, something they tried to achieve as well. However, the older generation, the ones that had witnessed the Kyuubi attack, knew that what the young boy had achieved was something god-like.

"Now let us thank him for everything with a minute of silence."

Following their Hokage’s words, the people closed their eyes and silence engulfed the graveyard. 

Exactly one minute later, the first people started to walk to the front to place flowers on Kakashi's grave. Minato watched every villager come and express their gratitude, all whilst having to keep an encouraging smile on his face even though inwardly he was breaking apart. His azure blue eyes focused on a small group of people in the far back. 

Orochimaru, Mikoto Uchiha, Itachi Uchiha, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, Naruto Namikaze, Genma Shiranui and Anko Mitarashi. 

Although these eight shinobi came to every ceremony, they all had different ways to mourn their close friend’s death. 

When the last villager had put down their flower and left the graveyard to visit the festival, Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto - nowadays also known as Team 7 - stepped towards the grave. Minato exchanged a sad look with his son before turning away to give the three children some privacy. 

He remembered quite good how guilty Naruto had felt when he had come to know the story of the death of his fathers' student, Kakashi Hatake.

**_~Flashback~_ **

_Minato had come home after an exhausting day of work in hope of seeing his little ball of sunshine waiting for him in the living room like Naruto had done every day. However, when his son wasn't waiting for him, he didn't worry. Perhaps, he had forgotten time and was still playing with his friends. He was only five after all._

_Tiredly, he let himself flop down on the sofa, closed his eyes and sighed deeply. Being Hokage and father was hard. It was not only physically but also emotionally exhausting. Sometimes the blonde thought of giving the position to someone else to have more time for his son, but then images of his late silver-haired student would appear in front of his inner eye and he couldn't even think about it anymore. Kakashi had sacrificed himself so that Minato could be Hokage and a father and there was no way he'd disappoint his student._

_And ... there was no one worthy of taking the title. At least not anymore._

_Suddenly he heard muffled sobs from upstairs and his eyes snapped open. Upstairs were only a bathroom, his room and Naruto's room._

_Quietly, he walked upstairs and with each step he took he came closer to the muffled cries. When he was directly in front of his son's room he stopped and carefully pushed open his door a bit._

_Peeking inside he saw a small blond boy sitting on a bed whilst hiding his face behind his knees. Sobs racked his small body and it broke Minato’s heart to see his child so upset._

_"Naruto?" he asked gently and took a step inside._

_The head of the child snapped up and his azure blue eyes stared panic-stricken at his father._

_"Dad?" the child whimpered and hastily tried to rub the tears from his face. "W-what are you doing here, dattebayo?"_

_With only a couple of steps, Minato was next to his son and embraced the shaken boy._

_"It's already six pm," he told him softly._

_"Oh."_

_"Now, do you want to tell me why you were crying?"_

_Naruto snivelled and wiped his face again with his sleeve before hesitantly whispering: "They said I killed him!"_

_Minato froze when his son uttered those words. Had now finally become the time?_

_"What do you mean, Naruto?"_

_Defiantly, Naruto crossed his arms and muttered whilst avoiding his father’s eyes: "People are say'ng that I've killed Kashi! But I didn't! And now Sas'ke won't talk to me 'cause he thinks I took away his big brother! But I didn't! Kura says that too! He says I shouldn't listen to stupid human talking crap!"_

_"Oh, Naruto," sighed Minato and pressed his son closer to his chest. "I can assure you; you didn't kill Kakashi."_

_"But then why are people saying that stuff?"_

_"Because when people are hurt, they start saying hurtful things. I'm going to tell you the true story of how Kakashi died and I'm sure Sasuke will talk to you tomorrow again. Listen up now, okay? Kakashi didn't die because of you but he died for you. He loved you and everyone so much that he died protecting you. He was the one to give you Kurama and allowed me to stay by your side. When your mother died because of an enemy and that same enemy took control of Kurama there was only one way to safe Konoha. But the price was a life. I was prepared to pay that price because that is my responsibility as Hokage, but it would have meant leaving you alone. Kakashi, however, didn't let me. He wanted you to have a father, so he paid the price instead of me."_

_Naruto listened with wide eyes to his father’s words. His hero Kakashi liked him? He had known about his existence? Suddenly, he felt really proud that such a famous shinobi had cared about him enough to let him have a parent._

_Snuggling closer to his father, he muttered smiling: “I’m glad he let you to stay with me."_

_"Me too. Me too."_

**_~Flashback End~_ **

The shuffling of feet pulled him out of his memories just in time for him to notice his son motioning him to come over. Minato glanced back to the other shinobi that were waiting to pay their respects to their fallen friend or family member. With a last quiet sigh and sorrowful look at his students' grave he joined his son and his teammates. 

When Minato and Team 7 was gone the other five shinobi stepped towards the grave. Mikoto was already sobbing quietly and Itachi had to support her on the way there, whilst Anko was comforted by her sensei and her best friend. 

"Hello Kakashi-kun..." the purple-haired girl whispered softly as she put her hand on the cold gravestone.

_In another realm, three shinobis watched worriedly about a silver-haired man as he trashed around in his sleep and grimaced as if he was in pain._

_"He's hearing their prayers and cries again, isn't he?" asked a young blond man quietly his two friends._

_"Of course, he is, dobe."_

_"Stop being so mean, teme. I was just asking a question."_

_"Both of you shut up," muttered a pink-haired girl as she watched the silver-haired man intently._

_"But Sakura!" whined the blond while the raven-haired boy just huffed._

_"You know what day today is and you also know his situation."_

_Naruto furrowed his brows and asked hesitantly: "Is it really the same as ours had been?"_

_Sighing, Sasuke nodded his head._

_"He can't move on."_

_"I hate seeing him like this, dattebayo!"_

_"We all do," whispered Sasuke. "But there's nothing we can do."_


	2. Chapter 2

**_~ Time skip 3 years ~_ **

On a cold and rainy day Izumo and Kotetsu were lazily guarding Konoha’s gates like usually. The weather had been catastrophic for a few days now, which was very strange for Konoha. It was as if it foreshadowed something terrible. 

Three hooded figures walked calmly and chattering through the gate, ignorant to the curious glances of the two Chunnin. 

Suddenly an aloof voice muttered from behind them: "Hn. Idiots, you should ask them for their name and business in Konoha. You two are on gate duty after all."

A high-pitched shriek escaped Izumo’s lips at the sudden noise - something he would ferociously deny for the rest of his life if anyone asked - and both toppled over their chairs in shock. In the end they had pulled everything down with them resulting in a loud **_Bang_**. 

Laying on their backs, they looked up to find the culprit that caused that shocked them but there was nobody. Nothing at all. 

Slowly they got up again, still wary of their surroundings, when loud laughter caused them to look towards the three hooded people. 

"Oi, what's there to laugh at?" grumbled Kotetsu and Izumo added annoyed: "State your name and what business you have in Konoha."

Still chuckling the three took down their hoods and were immediately drenched from head to toe. 

"Stupid weather," hissed the one to the far left as strands of his long black hair stuck to his face and blocked his vision partly. 

"O-Orochimaru-sama, Jiraiya-sama, Tsunade-sama. W-Welcome back," stuttered the two Chunnin in sync when they realised that not only had they embarrassed themselves in front of the three legendary Sannin, but they had also snapped at them. 

"Ah, it's good to be back. I don't think I could have survived another night with the two of you. A pervert and a weirdo," mussed Tsunade and smirked at her teammates.

"Hime!" whined the white-haired Sannin whilst Orochimaru glared at his female teammate angrily. 

"And I wouldn't be able to deal with another one of your drunken gambles. You lost all of our money on the first day!" he whispered.

Unfortunately for him, he hadn't been as quiet as he had thought and now Jiraiya had to hold back a fuming Senju.

Bewildered, Izumo and Kotetsu watched the three shinobi who were feared in all nations. 

"I forgot how they can be," whispered Izumo to his partner. 

"Me too but it has been three years after all," agreed Kotetsu before he added thoughtfully: "Didn't they leave with three kids? _The Silver Reapers' Children_?"

The Silver Reapers' Children was a title that Naruto Namikaze, Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha had gained when they were younger and somehow it just stuck. It had all started when rumours went around Konoha and the other nations, that the war legend known as the Silver Reaper had had a strange attachment to some new-born children. Some even said that he had cared so much about these children that he had sacrificed everything for their safety - like a father would for his children. Hence, the name _Silver Reapers' Children._

It hadn't taken long for people to figure out just who exactly these children were. Kakashi hadn't been very secretive about his fondness to his youngest brother Sasuke and the civilian girl Sakura and then it had only been a matter of putting the clues together. The Jounin had - according to rumours - made the biggest sacrifice for them and it was a known fact that the legend had died in the Kyuubi Attack. The only new-born baby back then had been the Hokage’s son, Naruto Namikaze. 

If you asked the three about that involuntary label, they would tell you without any hesitation that they carried the title with pride. After all, it was one of the few things that remained from a boy they hadn't really known but whose absence left them feeling empty and incomplete. 

"You don't think they lost them?" wondered Izumo and exchanged a worried look with his partner. 

Shrugging, the spiky haired Chunnin gathered all his courage and muttered: "There's only one way to find out." before stepping closer towards the arguing Sannin. 

"Where did you leave your students?"

The three teammates stopped arguing and looked perplexed at the two Chunnin before a smirk grazed their faces. 

"They are already in Konoha," Orochimaru told them smugly and found entertainment in watching their confused faces.

"But nobody got passed us!" argued Izumo in an attempt to keep their dignity. "We would have noticed them."

"But you did notice them. You even screamed like a little girl, Izumo," said Tsunade teasingly.

"That was them?"

"I didn't scream like a girl!"

"But we didn't even notice them approaching or disappearing!"

"I didn't scream like a girl!"

"Just what did you teach them?"

The two Chunnin spoke incredulously over each other and in the end stared with wide eyes at the Sannin.

"We trained them well," mussed Jiraiya smugly. 

Tsunade looked almost indignant as she replied to her teammate: "Of course we did. They are our students after all!"

Inwardly, Orochimaru thought that no matter what, they would never be able to take on the sensei role for Team 7. There was no reasonable or logical explanation as to why he had the feeling that the members of Team 7 would always be Kakashi’s students - even if they hadn't gotten the chance to know him. Let's just call it a hunch of his. 

"We should go to the Hokage Tower now, otherwise the team will be there before us, even though they made a stop at his grave," told the Snake Sannin his teammates. 

The mention of Kakashi’s grave dampened their mood a little bit and they decided to leave the two Chunnin quietly. 

Meanwhile, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura stood in front of a familiar grave. It had become some sort of ritual for the three to come here before and after every mission they took and since they had been on a training trip with the Sannin, they hadn't visited the grave for over three years. 

"It hasn't changed at all, dattebayo," muttered Naruto relieved.

And true to his words the grave was still as neat and pretty as it had been three years ago. 

However, what had changed were the three shinobi.

They had all changed visually, nowadays clad in black with only a coloured _7_ on their right shoulders and the appropriate clan symbol on the left shoulder of their black shirt, they looked terrifying. Like they deserved to be the Silver Reapers' Children. The boys hairstyle hadn't changed much from what it had been three years ago but Sakura had let her pink hair grow and wore it in a high ponytail now. Konoha's hitai-ate adored all their foreheads proudly. 

Though there was one thing that hadn't changed since they were young children and would most likely never change. 

They always - without a fault - carried the seal Kakashi had made for them before his death.

"Hello Nii-san," whispered the young Uchiha sadly. 

Sometime later Team 7 arrived at the Hokage Tower where they met up with Sannin.

"You've taken your time to come here," teased Jiraiya the three but got ignored.

The only reaction he got was an eye roll from Tsunade because the Sannin couldn't keep quiet. It was an unspoken rule to avoid talking about the last Hatake unless the other specifically asked after him. That way they tried to keep the break downs to a minimum.

Naruto passionately knocked on the office door. He couldn't wait to see his father again; three years was a very long time to not see his only living family member.

"Come in," sounded Minato's voice through the thick door and invited the visitors inside.

"I'm back, dad!" hollered the blond as he stormed inside, not caring that there were other people in the room.

But he wasn't the only one.

Just like his son, Minato had missed his last family member dearly after all, he was the last gift Kushina and Kakashi had given him. He was their living momentum. There were times Minato had played with the thought to order the six back to Konoha, if only to see Naruto again.

So, when Naruto's bash voice sounded, Minato let the documents in his hand fall to the floor and jumped over his desk to hug the blond.

"Thank kami you're safe," whispered the older blond as he pressed the younger one to his chest.

"I'm fine dad," replied Naruto softly and rubbed his father's back soothingly. "And I'm stronger than ever, dattebayo."

Someone cleared his throat awkwardly to make the two blondes aware of the other shinobi. Embarrassed the two split and Minato went back to his desk embarrassed.

"Welcome back, guys," greeted Shikamaru Team 7 smiling. "Hokage-sama, we can discuss the Chunnin exams another time, right Temari?"

The blonde Suna kunoichi next to the Nara nodded happily and said: "Of course, we still have time."

Minato glanced gratefully at the two Jounin.

"Huh? Why does Dad have to talk with you about the Chunnin exam?" asked Naruto confused whilst Sasuke asked simultaneously, with an aloof voice that would have made Kakashi proud: "Are you two together, hn?"

Shocked and embarrassed by the Uchiha's question, Temari went bright red and violently shook her head.

"O-of course not!"

Yawning, Shikamaru added: "Girls are such a drag, why would I put myself voluntarily through that work?"

Perhaps, the Nara should have thought what he said because only moments later he was pounded into the ground by Sakura and Temari.

"You're such an idiot," muttered the Suna kunoichi and turned away from the Nara to answer Naruto's question.

"We are the representatives of the upcoming Chunnin exam, that's why we have to talk with Hokage-sama."

"But it's not like it affects you guys," muttered Shikamaru whilst he rubbed his hurting head. "You made Chunnin at your first try after all and that even before your training trip with the Sannin." 

Minato watched smiling and happy as a proud smile grazed his son's face and he rubbed his neck in embarrassment whilst Sasuke wore a satisfied smirk, Sakura laughed a little and he had no doubt, that Kurama was grinning from ear to ear. 

After all, their team had been the only one to advance in the ranks at the Chunnin exam before they had left Konoha. 

"Ah, the good old times, dattebayo," Naruto chuckled. 

**_~Flashback~_ **   
_Together Team 7 walked into the Academy to take their Chunnin Exam. Their expressions were blank except the slight smug smirk around their lips when they saw a large amount of Gennin stand before a single door._

_"We're saving a step by weeding out the obvious losers beforehand."_

_Unnoticed by the others, Naruto whispered to his team: "Isn't this..."_

_"Hn."_

_Sakura attentively searched their surrounding for any eavesdropper before muttering to the boys: "Let's move on."_

_Quietly, the three moved through the crowd to the next level. The genjutsu around the room number hadn't even occurred to them._

_They were the first to get to the actual exam room and decided to take a sit in the far back._

_"Do you think there will be any challenging opponents?" asked Naruto as he swayed on his chair._

_"Don' think so," muttered Sasuke whilst he checked his equipment again. "We prepared for the worst after all."_

_"Sasuke is partly right,” added Sakura as more and more Gennin stepped inside the room. "There are very few Gennin in Konoha that could force us to break into a sweat, but we don't know about the other nations."_

_In the middle of all the foreign shinobi Team 7 found their friends, Team 10, Team 8, Team Guy and the Sand siblings. The other teams recognised Team 7 and gave them a short nod before moving to another side of the room._

_Thanks to the harsh teaching of Kurenai, Asuma and Guy the Gennin had soon understood that the shinobi life was no fun and were now already stronger than they would have been. Let's just say that Kakashi’s training plans he had made in their Gennin time were still very effective._

_Team 7 checked out the competition unnoticed until the exam proctor appeared. There were a lot of teams from Suna and Ame, which wasn't very surprising since they were strong allies to Konoha. Then there were a few from Oto and Taki and even one from Kiri!_

_Since Obito never became Madara, he never manipulated the fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatchi, and the young Kage became well liked in his village. Kiri got rid of his bloody image, shinobi with kekkei genkai weren't persecuted anymore and the seven swordsmen of the mist stayed loyal to their village. And through all of that people never knew that it was simply because Kakashi prevented Obito from turning. The time traveller had once again helped a village without actually being alive._

_"Sorry to have kept you waiting. My name is Morino Ibiki. I'm the proctor and chief examiner for the first part of the exam," a tall, scarred shinobi stood in front of the loud Gennin and glared at them evilly. "Now turn in your written applications, take one of these seating assignments cards and report directly to the seat indicated. When everyone's seated, we'll pass out the written part of the test."_

_When Ibiki mentioned a written test, all members of Team 7 paled and stared at Naruto who in turn was suddenly drenched in sweat._

_'A paper test?!' he thought insecure._

_Surprisingly it was Sasuke who put his arm comforting around the panicking blonde and whispered into his ear: "Calm down. Don't forget that Kaa-chan helped us study and she was confident that we are all ready. You can do this!"_

_Gaping, Naruto wanted to respond but Sasuke had already pulled his arm back and had moved to the front to get his seat number._

_'Thanks, Sasuke.' thought Naruto gratefully and grinned at the back of his best friend as he realised that his racing heartbeat had already calmed. 'Let's do this, dattebayo!'_

_"There are a few big rules that pertain to this firs test. I'll write them on the blackboard and explain them all, but I'm not taking questions, so listen carefully. I will say this only once._

_Rule number one! Each one of you starts out here with ten points. The test has ten questions, each worth a point. For each question you get wrong, we subtract a point from you. Get all ten right, and you retain the ten points you have. But if , for example, you answer three questions incorrectly, we take your ten points, subtract one point for every wrong answer... and your total drops to seven._

_Rule number 2! This written test is still a team event. Passing or failing will be determined by the sum of the points held by all three members. The object is for each team to have as few deductions as possible from its joint thirty-point total."_

_'Sounds easy enough, as long as Naruto doesn't get nervous,' thought Sakura as she went through the possible outcomes quickly. 'When he gets nervous, he forgets everything Mikoto-san has taught him!'_

_A kunoichi suddenly complained loudly about the unfairness of this test but Ibiki shut her down quickly. Team 7 had to suppress a quiet snicker. They had more than once been the victims of Ibiki's anger and had gotten used to it by now but it was indeed funny to see someone else get shout at by the tall Jounin._

_"Rule number 3: If, during the course of the exam, a candidate does anything out of the ordinary, in other words, anything that leads the proctors to determine that he or she has cheated ... we subtract two points from each member of the cheater's team," said Ibiki smugly. "In all probability, some of you will run through your entire allowance of points during the test. If so, you'll be failed and asked to leave."_

_You could almost touch the fear and tension in the room and some of the gennins were already sweating quite a bit. However, Team 7 had perfected their poker-face long ago and not even Ibiki could tell what the three infamous children felt. And honestly, it pissed him of that he got so easily outplayed by the brats._

_"If you let the proctors catch you cheating, you'll bring yourself and your friends down! If you aspire the become chunnin, if you want to be the best shinobi you can be, then you'd better start acting like you already are! One more thing..._

_If any individual loses all ten of his or her points, that person's entire team, regardless of how the other two members do will be disqualified!"_

_'Let's see ow the Silver Reapers' Children react to that!' thought Ibiki smugly but was disappointed as all the reaction he got was Sasuke raising an eyebrow challenging._

_Grumpily, he told them: "You have one hour starting now!"_

_Naruto exchanged a reassuring glance with his teammates before he concentrated fully on the damn question paper._

_'Question No.1 Decode the following cipher and summarise its meaning...Okay, I can do that.'_

_Determined Naruto started to scribble down the answers but not before thanking Mikoto-san for the many, many painful study sessions they had held._

_'Number two... The parabola marked B represents the greatest effective distance the enemy shinobi, A, could throw a shuriken star from the top of a 23.3-foot-tall tree. Calculate the specific features of the scenario and deduce the range of the shuriken's effectiveness, assuming a consistent speed for shinobi A's assault upon any enemy shinobi operating within the arc that the flight of the shuriken describes. Show your work. ....This... This is... This is so easy!'_

_The female member of Team 7 grinned and happily got to work. If she had been alone, she would have started to whistle._

_Throughout the next forty-five minutes Team 7 didn't look up from their papers once, much to the dismay of Ibiki. Not even when people were thrown out left and right from them and kunais were thrown in their general direction._

_'Damn brats!' groaned Ibiki as he realised just how much Team 7 had perfected their poker-face. 'I wonder who taught them to be that calm.'_

_"Now that we've weeded out the worst of the slackers, let's move on to the important question. Forty-five minutes have passed. The time has come. Get ready for the tenth question!"_

_'Here it comes!' thought Team 7 excited._

_"And before we get to the question itself, I'm adding one more new rule. Let me explain. This rule is absolute. First, you must choose whether to accept or reject this tenth question!"_

_"Ch-Choose?" exclaimed Temari shocked. "What happens if someone doesn't accept the question?!"_

_"If you reject the question and don't even try to answer it , you'll lose all your points immediately and fail! And both of your teammates will fail right with you."_

_"Say what?!"_

_"Then why would anyone choose to reject it?"_

_"Because..." Ibiki smirked, "of the other rule."_

_'He's overdoing the thing with the rules.' thought Sakura sweat dropping._

_"If you try to answer the question and you get it wrong, you will never be permitted to apply for the chunnin exam again. Not ever."_

_Smugly, Sasuke thought: 'Your bluff is way too obvious. They won't fall for it.'_

_"You can't be serious. That's ridiculous!" shouted Kiba enraged. "There are ninja here who've sat for the chunnin exams more than once already! We know there are!"_

_'Kiba!' groaned Naruto inwardly. ' It's a damn bluff!'_

_"Heh heh ... Just your rotten luck. I wasn't making the rules in past years. I am now. I've been up front with you. You can take a failing grade now, and try again later. Anyone who has doubts would be smart to reject the tenth question right now. Come back and try next year. Those who choose not to accept should raise their hands."_

_One team after another left the room, discouraged by the tenth question. In the there were only six teams left!_

_All of the Konoha 12, the sand siblings and the team from Kiri._

_Sweat dropping, Ibiki scratched his neck and muttered: "So, everyone who is still here, you've just passed the first exam!"_

_'This was not how I planned it! There should have been at least half of the teams left!' thought the Jounin, already worrying what the Hokage would say._

_Suddenly, a person appeared in a whirlwind of leaves and Anko Mitarashi stood next to Ibiki._

_Incredulously, her gaze wandered through the almost empty room and she asked her mentor wryly: "What did you do?"_

_"He made a very obvious bluff, but the majority was still dumb enough to fall for it!" muttered Naruto as he and his team moved towards the purple-haired Jounin._

_Sighing, Anko pinched the brick of her nose before saying: "I guess there's nothing to change. Just follow me to the second part of the exam."_

_Some time later, the six teams and Anko stood before a huge, creepy forest._

_"This is the arena for the second exam: Training ground 44. Also known as ... the forest of death!"_

_Subconsciously, a frown marred her face for a moment when she was reminded of all the times she had spent in their with ... him._

_"It looks like a pretty creepy place," muttered a Kiri nin and Team 7 inwardly shivered._

_The poor gennin had no idea. In that place everything was deadly!_

_"Before we begin the second exam, there's something I have to hand out," announced Anko as she passed out some flyers. "They are consent forms. Everybody has to sign one."_

_Ino hesitantly asked: "Why?"_

_A cheerful smile crossed Ankos face as she replied: "We want all the details covered before the first deaths occur. Sign before you go in, so we can't be held liable. You wouldn't want me to get in trouble, would you?_

_First, I'll explain what the second exam entails. Then you can sign the forms. With the other two members of your team, bring the forms to the hut behind you and submit them. Now, about the exam. To put it simply, it's a no-holds-barred survival test. Within the confines of this carefully delineated area, you're going to undergo a survival test. During the course of that test, you may use any ninja arts or weapons you have at your disposal. It's a kind of fight-to-the-death version of "capture the flag" or, in this case, "capture the scroll". There's a "scroll of heaven" and a "scroll of earth" and your objective is to acquire both scrolls._

_There are eighteen of you here. That's six three-member teams. Three teams will start out with a heaven scroll and the other three will start with an earth scroll. But you'll need both scrolls to pass. So your objective is to hold on to your scroll, get your hands on one of the other kind and then bring them both to the tower at the centre._

_Oh, and there's also a time limit! You have 120 hours in which to complete this exam... exactly five days!_

_Now let's talk about the rules and what offences you can be disqualified for! Obviously, the teams that fail to reach the tower in time are out. So is any team that loses a member, whether to death or to severe injury. And under no circumstances can you leave the forest before the time is up. No recess. No time-outs. Also you're forbidden to look at the contents of the scrolls until you're inside the tower!_

_That's all the explanation you get. We'll trade one scroll for every three forms. When you've got yours, choose the gate you want to start from. Everyone will begin at the same time."_

_Unsurprisingly, Team 7 was the first one to sign and hand in their form and walked to a gate without any fear in their step._

_Anko smiled softly as she watched them walk away. He would have been so proud of them!_

_Exactly half an hour later the second exam started._

_Grinning, Team 7 started to enter the forest, all of them having the same thought._

_'Let the hunt begin!'_

_Six hours later Team 7 entered the tower and gave every present shinobi a shock._

_They not only reached the tower before the first day was over but they also looked like they had just went through hell and back! Though the most shocking thing would be the six scrolls they carried with them._

_Minato and the other Jounin-senseis were immediately notified that there was no point in continuing the second exam since the first team had gotten all scrolls._

_Grinning the three stood before the blonde Hokage, who didn't know whether he should be proud, afraid or annoyed that they had single handily took out all their opponents._

_Sighing, he told them: "I guess I have no choice but to promote you all to Chunnin. Congratulations."_

**_~Flashback End~_ **

Curiously, Sakura asked: "Who else got promoted to Chunnin after us?" 


	3. Chapter 3

Frowning, Temari thought for a moment before replying: "Well, Neji, Kankuro, Hinata, Shikamaru and I are now Jounin and the rest of the Konoha 12 all made Chunnin a year ago."

"They're Jounin?" asked Naruto loudly whilst Sasuke grimaced.

He didn't like that the others were ahead of his team.

"Stop making such faces, you idiots," reprimanded Sakura her male teammates whilst throwing her arms around them. "You know we're just as, if not stronger, than they are. It will only be a matter of time until we achieve Jounin rank."

And just like that the pinknette was able to cheer her teammates up.

"Hell yeah. Just you wait and see, dattebayo! We'll become known as the strongest team ever!"

"There's no doubt you three will achieve your goal," sighed Shikamaru and shrugged. "Even without a sensei, you passed your first Chunnin exam with flying colours."

Embarrassed, the three scratched their necks and avoided looking at the others. 

"Right," muttered Naruto uncomfortably.

**_~ Flashback ~_ **

_Minato, Jiraiya and Shikaku were currently putting the new Gennin teams together when something sparked the Sannin’s interest._

_"You want to put the three Silver Reaper’s Children on the same team? I thought you were meant to balance the teams but all of them could have graduated two years ago, how is that balanced?" wondered Jiraiya._

_Sighing, the blond explained: "It's not only about balance but also about compatibility. Those three knew each other since they were babies, and they have an inseparable bond. They know the other one by the back of their hand and sometimes even finish the other one's sentence. They are so in sync that it's like you're looking at one being._

_And could you really imagine them with anyone else? The Ino-Shika-Cho trio is a fixed thing, what options would be left?_

_Naruto, Sakura and Kiba? Having Naruto and Kiba on the same team is a punishment for any sensei. Same with Naruto, Hinata and Kiba._

_Sasuke, Sakura and Kiba or Shino? Not only would Naruto never talk to me again, but Sasuke would also act like a brat because I put him with a 'dog' and not his best friend and I don't doubt that Sakura would take his side._

_And Sakura with Shino and Kiba? The poor boys would most likely be continuously in the hospital. Don't forget, they even decided to flunk the graduation exam two times because Naruto had overheard me, planning to split them up."_

_"So there really is no other choice," groaned the Sannin._

_"And isn't it like Kakashi had already chosen them to be a team? " muttered Minato smiling slightly._

_Jiraiya watched his student's expression carefully but then he chuckled loudly and asked: "So who's going to be the poor soul that is their sensei? If they are so in sync as you say, it will be hard to add a fourth person."_

_"I'm sure they'll be happy with their sensei," replied Minato confident._

_~Time skip~_

_"I can't, Minato-sensei!" whined Obito and clung to his teacher’s sleeve. "They are the devils reincarnate! They'll succeed in killing me!"_

_Sweat dropping, Minato tried to escape his students clutches. He had thought that since Obito was his student and had known the three from the start, he'd make a good sensei for them._

_"I'm sure you're overreacting. They love you."_

_Crying, the Uchiha whimpered: "Last Monday, they thought it would be funny to rag the training ground with explosion seals to test my reaction time. On Tuesday they didn't speak a single word to anyone but I'm positive they knew what the other was thinking. They had that devilish expression on their face! It was terrifying! It was like I was a ghost! On Wednesday, we were training our aim with dull kunai and shuriken until Sakura-chan got the glorious idea to make me the target and use actual weapons! I couldn't rest for a single minute the entire day! Whenever I thought I had lost them, they were there! And believe me sensei, I've got some pretty bad-ass hideouts."_

_"Obito..."_

_"No, no, listen sensei! On Thursday they chose to hide for the entire day! I couldn't see, sense or hear them! Nobody had seen them! I even asked Orochimaru-sama! But I always had the feeling as if I was being watched! It was so scary! On Friday, they put the entire Inuzuka clan compound under water, making it look like it was me! Tsume-sama was chasing me the entire day like a rabid dog and I had to clean everything up!"_

_'Oh, so that was the big commotion on Friday. I've been wondering who got Tsume so mad,' thought Minato surprised._

_"And on Saturday, they dyed every shinobis’ hitai-ate orange! Do you know how many angry shinobi wanted to talk to me? That Ibiki guy even wanted to drag me to T &I! Me! T&I! So then, on today I thought it would be a good idea to make them clean all the hitai-ates, but I was so stupid, sensei! _

_First, Sakura-chan was using some kind of water jutsu to wash out the dye and I thought it was damn impressing, until she 'apparently' lost control and ended up sending me flying against a wall. So, there I was, drenched to the bones when suddenly Sasuke-kun started to use the fire ball jutsu to dry me and the hitai-ates and before I could stop them, Naruto added some kind of wind hurricane and boom everything exploded! They burned my hair, sensei! I thought they were just kids; they shouldn't be able to use ninjutsu!_

_Tomorrow is Monday again and I really don't want to die!"_

_Encouragingly, Minato told the sobbing Uchiha: “I’m positive it will get better. Look at the bright side, you've survived two months you'll survive a bit longer."_

_From afar an explosion followed by an earthquake was heard and when Obito peeked in the direction of the commotion he paled, and a sob escaped him. That was his house._

_"I quit!"_

_~Time skip~_

_Minato didn't know what to do with the three troublemakers in front of him. His right hand Shikaku was just as clueless._

_"You've been Gennin for almost five months now and in this time, you've managed to have just how many senseis?" asked the blond overwhelmed._

_"Around thirty, give or take a few," answered Sasuke the question gleefully._

_Groaning Minato slapped his head against his desk. He wanted to be disappointed in his son and his friends for being able to chase off thirty of his Jounin, but you had to admit it was an impressive feat._

_"Shikaku, who else is left?"_

_The Nara sighed as he took out the long list of Jounin names._

_"Shi Aburame - no. Chika Akimichi - no. Hayate Gekko - no. Might Guy - already has a team. Taro Hyuuga - no. Mei Inuzuka - no. Anko Mitarashi - no. Ibiki Morino - no. Satoshi Nara - no. Asuma Sarutobi - has a team. Naomi Suzuki - no. Delilah Uchiha - no. Itachi Uchiha - refuses to take the devils as a team. Obito Uchiha - no. Tobias Uchiha - no. Yugao Uzuki - no. Isao Yamanaka - no. Kurenai Yuuhi - has a team.... "_

_Putting his hand up, Minato muttered exhausted: "Just tell me if anyone is left."_

_Hesitantly, Shikaku told his friend: "There's no one left willing to try. They are scared to end up in the hospital or mental asylum like some of the previous senseis. But you could always force them to take on the job."_

_Waving his hand in a dismissive manner, the blond replied: "What's the point in that? It would never work."_

_Looking at the three culprits, he asked them: "What do you suggest I do now?"_

_It was as if Team 7 had only waited for that question because Naruto slapped his hands on his fathers' desk, leaned forward and shouted: "Ero-sennin, Baa-chan and Oro-chan were talking about taking us on a training trip if we pass our first Chunnin exam. Just don't give us a new sensei and if we pass the exam the Sannin will take us on. Problem solved!"_

_Before Minato could say something, Shikaku interrupted him:" I think at this point it is our only option!"_

_Slowly, Minato nodded thoughtfully._

_"If you pass the exam and the Sannin are willing to take you on a training trip, I won't appoint you another sensei."_

**_~Flashback End~_ **

"Oh, and what about Gaara? And how's Sasori-senpai?" asked Sakura excited.

Unbeknown to them, it was thanks to Orochimaru that Sasori was still a loyal shinobi of Suna. The Sannin had looked after the boy ever since Kakashi’s death to make sure he wouldn't stray from his path. On one of his trips to Suna he had been forced to take the three children with him and Sakura and Sasori immediately bonded about their common interest about poisons. Although Shizune was quite knowledgeable about all the different poisons in the different nations, she was no match to Sasori. Somehow, the red-haired Jounin had taken a liking to the eager and curious child and had unofficially taken her on as his student. 

“They’re good. Sasori-san is working on another poison and Gaara spends hours in his greenhouse, it’s ridiculous. We barely see him anymore,” explained Temari, but couldn’t hide the smile on her face.

Thanks to Minato her brother’s seal had been fixed before he could succumb to Shukakus’ madness. She’d be forever grateful to Konoha for helping her little brother and talking some sense into their father. It was just sad that it had happened after her uncle had died. Yashamura would have loved to see Gaara as he was now.

Clapping his hands together, Minato got the attention of the shinobi.

"I believe it has been a long day, why don't you go visit your family now? Naruto, I'll be home soon, I just have one council meeting left and then you can tell me all about your adventure. How about that?"

Nodding, Shikamaru bid them goodbye and left with Temari. 

Hesitantly, Naruto nodded as well. 

"I'll wait for you at home, dad."

"You're such a baka," groaned Sasuke and grabbed the blonds' hand. "You'll obviously come to my home. Kaa-chan and Itachi-nii want to see you too."

Smiling brightly, Naruto turned around and shouted: "Race you. The last at the Uchiha compound is a rotten tomato!" before racing out of the tower. 

"You really are a baka!" muttered the Uchiha and shook his head before he waved goodbye to the last member of Team 7, the Sannin and Minato.

"He hasn't changed at all," stated Minato relieved but was immediately interrupted by the shocked expressions of the Sannin. 

"Don't let his act fool you, Minato," mussed Jiraiya. "He's grown up a lot."

"Now, what's that about a council meeting I've heard?" asked Tsunade whilst her gaze was subconsciously roaming the room for a battle of sake. 

Minato must have hidden them somewhere here, there was no way a human could deal with the paperwork without a drink or two. 

Suddenly, the door opened again and Hiruzen and Shikaku entered. 

"You've heard right, Tsunade," told Hiruzen his students. "It's good to have you all back in one piece."

"Now, that we are all here, let's start," intervened Minato. 

Frowning he folded his hands and began: "There is one thing that I believe is of utmost importance. There have been..." he took a deep breath, "There have been rumours that a jinchuuriki has been killed."

Confused, Tsunade asked: "That isn't something new, is it? Shinobi always try to weaken other villages and the best way to this is by taking their jinchuuriki away."

"You're right, Tsunade-sama," agreed the blond. "But these rumours state that the jinchuuriki had been kidnapped from their village and later their corpse has been returned. The question is, why would anyone kidnap a living jinchuuriki when they could just kill him at the first opportunity?"

"How reliable is that rumour?" wondered Jiraiya uneasy.

"From what I've heard, quite reliable Jiraiya-sensei. There has been no statement from any of the other villages yet, but the last time I met Rasa he mentioned having heard something similar," replied the Yondaime.

Taking a drag from his pipe, Hiruzen asked his successor: "Do you know which village the jinchuuriki was part of? And which village could have done something like this?"

"There was no specific village mentioned and I wasn't able to find out from where the rumour started but considering that I've seen Yagura-sama recently and Gaara is doing well, we can rule out Suna and Kiri. I haven't heard anything from Takigakure and we're not really on good terms with Kumo or Iwa, so I can't say which jinchuuriki has been killed, if any at all."

"Even though we don't know if the rumour is true, we should increase the safety measures for Naruto, Hokage-sama," said Shikaku thoughtfully. 

"He won't like it," intervened Jiraiya. "He's a stubborn and hot-headed idiot and he won't listen if you put any guards around him. I can assure you that right now he's safest with Sasuke and Sakura. And don't forget now that we're back, Itachi is able to look after him again. I doubt that there's an enemy who can pass these three."

Hiruzen looked dubiously at his white-haired student and asked: "Aren't they just Chunnin?"

"Oh, they are far from being Chunnin. They are almost as good as us,” said Tsunade chuckling and shook her head.

"Huh. If that's true than I guess just telling the ANBUs to be more alert will be enough for the time being," decided Minato in the end, grateful that he wouldn't have to tell his son about some new guards. 

"If that is all, I'd like to excuse me. I have somewhere to be," said Orochimaru suddenly gruffly.

"Where do you have to be?" wondered the Toad Sannin perplexed.

"None of your busines,” hissed Orochimaru and waited impatiently for Minato to excuse him.

The blond Hokage looked perplexed but hesitantly nodded.

"Of course, Orochimaru. Have a good day."

Shikaku watched curiously as the Snake Sannin left the office quietly. He got the feeling as if the Sannin knew more than he let on.

A little bit later, the Snake Sannin stood in front of a familiar grave, the rain, still not having lessened, was drenching him from head to toe again. But the heavy rain had some advantages. Nobody was outside to see his worried expression or listen to his quiet pleas.

"You left me one single task and I wasn't even able to fulfil it. I've searched for Zetsu everywhere but I can't find him and now it looks like he was able to steal the bijuu again. I'm so sorry, Kakashi, it appears as if I can't protect the future like you could. .... We could really need you right now."

Meanwhile, somewhere at another nation, a plant-like being appeared out of the ground next to a shinobi with long black hair who was watching intently the sleeping brunette girl. 

"Madara-sama, phase 1 of our plan has begun just like planned."

"Hn," muttered the old Uchiha. "Her hatred is burning greater than ever. She will bring Konoha to its knees."


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a double-update today! Be sure to read chapter 3 before this one.
> 
> Love, Stella x

Running, Konan dodged a boiling water stream and cursed inwardly.

_'I thought Ame was impenetrable! How the hell did they come in here?'_

Suddenly, she heard a voice muttering behind her: "Coral Palm." and felt a heavy impact on her back.

With a **'poof'** the paper clone dispersed. Meanwhile, Konan pressed herself trembling behind a stone wall. She desperately tried to calm her breathing and suppress her wild chakra. 

"Come out, come out, wherever you are," taunted the mad voice. 

The purple-haired kunoichi pressed herself even more against the wall and looked carefully at her right. Just when she wanted to glance at her left, a masked face popped up in front of her, whispering tauntingly: "Found you."

"Dance of the Shikigami," shouted Konan quickly and dispersed into thousands of papers.

Giggling, the masked person jumped back. 

"As if this could stop me! Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire. "

Everything was engulfed by flames, the searing heat burning painfully against Konan's skin and when she reappeared a few meters away from the person, she grimaced looking at the burn marks on her body. 

Quickly, she hauled a handful of shuriken at the person before she formed a pair of paper wings, lifting her into the air. 

_'I can't sense them!'_ Konan thought frantic. _'How's that even possible?'_

Suddenly, something grabbed her ankle, and she was flung through the air. Before she had the chance to free herself, she was forcefully thrown against the ground.

"Urgh!"

Her entire body was throbbing, and she could literally feel two of her rips break beneath the force if the impact. Not even seconds later four kunai were thrown at her, perfectly aimed to pin her hands and feet to the ground. 

Konan prided herself in being a strong kunoichi - stronger than most - but when the sharp metal pierced her flesh, she let out a suppressed scream. 

"Oh, what a delightful sound! And what for a beautiful expression!" whispered the person as they kneed next to her. "I'll let you in on a secret. Your friend, the red-haired Uzumaki..."

 _'Nagato? How does he know about him?'_ she thought through the pain. 

"He..."

"Konan!"

Suddenly the person was pushed away from her and a ginger-haired shinobi crouched down beside her.

"I'm here now!" he muttered shaken. "I'm here."

Hastily he pulled the kunai out, flinching at the pained sounds of his friend.

"Damn boy!" growled the person as they got up again, a strand of shoulder long brunette hair falling out of their hood. 

"Konan," Yahiko whispered afraid and pushed the weakened girl protectively behind himself.

"Water release: Water dragon bullet!"

The water dragon flung the two Ame shinobi brutally through the air.

"Yahiko!" screamed Konan panic-stricken.

Yahiko quickly wrapped himself protectively around her, effectively taking the brunt force of the impact. Groaning, he crawled to his feet again whilst keeping the kunoichi in his arms.

"Konan?" he whispered hoarsely and checked her over for any injuries.

"So cute. You're worried about the girl but don't fret, soon you'll be together forever!" taunted the person and walked predator like to the pair.

Midway, the person stopped and looked into the distance before scowling angrily.

"Well, looks like my playtime is over. You've got lucky this time."

In the blink of an eye, the person had disappeared. Trembling, Konan let herself fall to her knees whilst Yahiko gracelessly flopped down on his back.

"We're alive." muttered the purple-haired woman astounded. "We're still alive!"

A shudder went through her body when she thought back to the horrifying fight if you could even call it that. The masked person had played with her like a predator with his prey! Everything she had thrown at them had been in vain! She wasn't even able to put a single scratch on the person!

Tears swelled up in the eyes of the strong woman as realisation sunk in, that this could have been very well he last fight. Being a kunoichi she had made her peace with having an early death, it was something you had to accept if you choose the shinobi life, but she couldn't die yet. Not until she had avenged Nagato. The blood from her head injury mixed with her tears and the rain and turned everything around her deep red.

"You know, I wouldn't have let you die."

Yahiko had gotten up and was now kneeling next to his shaking friend.

"I promised Nagato to keep you safe and there is no way in hell, I'd ever break that promise."

The look in his eyes was so full of honesty that it scared Konan to the core. 

Throwing herself into his arms, she whispered in tears: "Stop! Please! Don't you dare try to protect me at the cost of yourself! Don't leave me like Nagato left us."

It still hurt to think about the loss of their close friend but the icy touch squeezing her heart when she thought about losing Yahiko was worse than anything she had ever experienced.

 _'Is this how Anko felt?'_ she wondered breathless. 

The friendship with the other purple-haired kunoichi had stayed strong throughout all the years, although it wasn't always easy due to the distance between the two villages. But when the news of Kakashi Hatake's death had reached Ame, Konan hadn't hesitated to pack her bags to stay in Konoha in order to be there for her friend. Though, when she had been ready to leave, Anko had already been in Ame, drenched from head to toe by the ever falling rain. Konan would never be able to forget the red-rimmed and teary eyes, the dark eye bags from lack of sleep and pale skin of her best friend. 

_"I couldn't stay there anymore."_ was what the Konoha kunoichi had told her hoarsely. 

Anko had spent almost two weeks in Ame, which had mostly consisted of crying, eating ice cream and more crying. After that, Konan had made sure to visit the girl at least once a month.

Yahiko starred perplexed at the kunoichi before rubbing her back soothingly and whispering: "I won't leave you. That's a promise."

For a short while they just sat in the rain until...

"I'll send you to Konoha."

"Huh?" wondered Konan confused and stared at the man. 

"Konoha is stronger than Ame and you'll be safer there. And you'll have the chance to see Anko again."

Angrily, she pushed him away and hissed: "I won't run away like a coward!"

"Of course not," agreed Yahiko soothingly. "You'll rely important Intel to the Hokage as Ames' ambassador. Konoha will want to know about the masked person, especially since it appears as if they were able to predict our movements which is said to be an attribute of the sharingan. It could also be another kekkei-genkai or jutsu, but they need to know." 

"It was a woman," muttered Konan, remembering the strands of long hair. "She could be after you too! I don't want to leave you alone!"

Currently, Orochimaru was strolling through the city, plagued by worrisome thoughts. He was on his way to another council meeting - the third one in the span of four days- which would most likely end with no solution whatsoever to the increasing problems the rumours had caused, again. 

Honestly, he was tired of the whole situation - he hadn't slept for more than a couple of hours- and he was exhausted of going over the same thing again and again whilst trying to protect people that didn't even know he was protecting them. Finally, he could understand how the time traveller must have felt. The burden of the knowledge of the future was a heavy one. He realised that now more than ever before and his respect for his late friend only grew.

When Orochimaru entered the meeting room, he was surprised to see Konan sitting next to Minato. Frowning, he regarded the kunoichi with a worried look. He thought the kunoichi should have been in Ame, especially now that the situation is critical. 

"Now that everyone is here, we can start," Minato said and started the meeting. 

The Snake Sannin let his eyes roam around the room only to find that he had been indeed the last one to arrive, all the clan heads and the other two Sannin had already been there. A cold shiver ran down his spine when his gaze crossed the empty chairs of the Uzumaki Clan and the Hatake Clan.

_'He should have been here.'_

"The first point I'd like to discuss is something Ames' ambassador Konan has to say," mentioned the blond Hokage and gave the purple-haired kunoichi the word. 

Confidently, Konan stood up and looked seriously at each and every one of Konoha’s clan heads.

"Two days ago, I was attacked by a masked woman. Normally, this wouldn't be something concerning you, but in this case the person could predict every single one of my attacks, almost as if she could predict the future. "

"Are you implying that the Uchiha Clan had something to do with this?" interrupted Fugaku her coldly. 

Shaking her head, Konan replied calmly: "I'm not accusing anyone, I'm just saying that the person could possess a sharingan, be it stolen or inherited. It could also be another kekkei-genkai."

Glaring at the foreign kunoichi, the Uchiha clan head growled: "There hasn't been any cases of that for years now."

He wouldn't idly stand by as someone tried to pull his clan into the mud! The promise he had silently given the late Hatake was something he wouldn't break. He wouldn't let the chance of being with his family pass by and protect his clan the best he could. It was all he could do to honour the dead boy. 

"Even so, that was not everything I'd wanted to say. This woman's chakra was very heavy and dark, almost poisonous, just like ... a jinchuurikis'."

Silence engulfed the entire room until Shikaku leaned slightly forwards and inquisitively summarised: "So what you're saying is that you were attacked by a woman, that not only possessed some kind of kekkei-genkai similar to the sharingan but also appeared to be a jinchuuriki, correct? Basically, a female jinchuuriki with sharingan?"

The Nara's conclusion caused an even tenser silence in the room and it would probably be the first and only time, Konan would see something akin to fear in the expressions of the clan heads.

"It...it sounds familiar, doesn't it?" asked Minato with a forced smile. 

"It's impossible!" barked Tsume, shooting up. "Sakumo’s pup died killing her!" 

Hiashi, being the ever-stoic Hyuuga he was, folded his hands elegantly and mused out loudly: "You must be mistaken, kunoichi-san. Perhaps it wasn't a jinchuurikis' chakra after all."

A heated discussion began between the clan heads and Konan whilst Minato stared into space, mind racing with every possible explanation for these events. 

Meanwhile, Orochimaru felt like throwing up. If his hunch was right, and he prayed to kami he was wrong for once, then Zetsu or Madara had found a way to use the Edo-tensei! Kakashi had once mentioned that the two had gotten some scrappy knowledge of the future from Kaguya, if this knowledge included the Edo-tensei then ... they were doomed! 

If they knew of the mistakes, they had made the first time around, add to that an army of edo-tensei-ed shinobis lead by an revenge-driven jinchuuriki with bloody sharingan, then ... there was no way the villages could hope to survive! They hadn't won the first time around, so how could they hope to win now? Especially if the only one with the same knowledge was six feet under? 

He himself knew a few things about the events of the Fourth Shinobi World War, though he had to admit that he didn't know all the finer details anymore. It had been almost two decades since he had seen the time travellers' memories and sadly, he had no photographic memory. Though, he imagined it was different for Kakashi. Events like the war were ingrained into a survivors' memory. There was no way Kakashi could have ever forgotten the things he had witnessed, even if he wanted to. The hardship, the loss, the pain. It would never leave him. 

"Quiet!" shouted Minato, after he had composed himself. 

The silence in the room was immediately. Nobody wanted to antagonise the Yellow Flash, especially when it concerned his deceased students. 

"We don't know who that masked woman is just yet, so we won't make any accusations, am I clear?" 

Sounds of agreement echoed throughout the room and Minato smiled grimly. 

"I will send out a team to gather more information, meanwhile Konan will stay here in Konoha. Furthermore, we will alert the ANBU corps and strengthen the security measurements around Konoha. Orochimaru?"

The Snake Sannin’s hands were sweating and if you looked closely, you could see that he was a bit paler than usual, when he revealed: "I have a request to make, Hokage-sama. In hindsight of recent events, I'd like to stay in Suna for a while and also to keep Uchiha Itachi inside the village and off the active mission roster." 

"Are you accusing my son and the heir to the Uchiha clan to be involved in something?" shouted Fugaku fuming.

First his clan got accused to have made an assassination attempt on Konan and now his son was being accused of playing a role in the recent events!

"Not at all, Fugaku," groaned Orochimaru. "It is only for his safety."

"What recent events are you referring to and why would you have to stay in Suna?" inquired Minato interested.

The Snake Sannin tensed and replied carefully: "From what I've heard, I have reasons to believe that the person attacking Konan is the same or at least an accomplice to the one responsible for Uzumaki Nagatos' murder three years ago. In consideration of these events, it is close by to think that there is someone killing strong shinobi for whatever reason."

 _'So far so good,'_ thought Orochimaru anxiously. _'Now how to explain that Sasori and Itachi are probably on that list if someone is actually trying to kill of Akatsuki members?'_

"And how is this connected with your stay in Suna or the increasing security measurements for Uchiha Itachi?" asked Shikaku slyly and watched the Sannin’s every movement, from the minuscule twitch of his eyebrow to the very obvious glare send into his direction.

"...I have a spy," started the Sannin hesitantly.

_'A little lie never hurts, especially if it's the easiest way to explain knowledge that I shouldn't have in the first place.'_

"This spy might have a lead to the person trying to kill Konan, having killed Nagato and hunting jinchuurikis."

"We're still not sure if this rumour carries any truth," interrupted Hiashi arrogantly.

Before Orochimaru could further explain, Minato intervened, mentioning: "That is a discussion for a later time. Carry on please."

Thankful, Orochimaru complied: "Like I said, this spy might have a lead and I've received some worrying Intel from them. Apparently, their next victim could be Sasori of Suna, Uchiha Itachi, Deidara of Iwa or Hoshigaki Kisame of Kiri and obviously Konan, since she's still alive. I'd like to protect Sasori myself since Suna is one of our oldest allies and the jinchuuriki of the one-tails is also there. I'd be able to protect both or at least assist Suna whilst my teammates could protect Itachi or Kisame. Though I don't know if the Mizukage would allow us to enter Kiri and I'm sure the Tsuchikage won't allow us anywhere near Iwa."

"I didn't know you had a spy," muttered Jiraiya sulkily. 

"It's nothing I'd like to make a public knowledge," declared Orochimaru forcefully. 

"I see where your request is coming from," mussed Minato, his azure blue eyes starring attentively at the Sannin. "However, I can't send you to Suna, especially now."

"But Hokage-sama!"

"Listen. I will send ..." Minato made a short pause, thinking his decision over, "Team 7 has just passed their Jounin exam so it will be their first mission in the new rank. They will be accompanied by Uchiha Obito and Shiranui Genma and their objective will be to keep Sasori-san as well as Gaara safe. Since Itachi is an ANBU Captain, his team will be responsible for his safety and he'll stay in Konoha as soon as he returns from his current mission. Konan will have an ANBU team as well and I suggest you inform Anko about the threat too since she will probably be around her friend most of the time. The only thing we can do for Kisame and Deidara is to warn their respective Kage. You will have the chance to do so yourself, seeing as you, Jiraiya-sensei, Tsunade and Shikaku will accompany me to the Kage meeting Yagura-sama has called in. It appears as if Kiri is in dire need."

"It's the first time I heard of a Kage meeting in a long time," wondered Tsunade.

"Yes, that's right," agreed Minato worried. "Perhaps, Kiri suffers from similar problems as we do."

"Minato, don't you think you should take more guards with you? Especially if somebody kills off strong shinobi?" asked Hiruzen, troubled by the aloofness of his successor.

Grimacing, Minato replied: "It's not a question of wanting to, I literally can't. Over the last years a large number of our shinobi have died on missions so that our numbers are dangerously low right now. We managed to keep it hidden from the other shinobi villages, but the truth is that we're between a rock and a hard place when it comes to shinobi."

Orochimaru gulped when hearing this, thinking alerted: _'Don't tell me they were killing us off for years now and increasing their army at the same time. How didn't I notice?!'_

"We could really use the pup right now," muttered Tsume thoughtfully, unaware of what she would start. "He really had been extraordinary strong." 

"Enough of that, Tsume!" interrupted Minato the oblivious woman harshly. "Kakashi is dead and has been for years. There is no point in thinking about what could have been, we can only try to protect what he died for."

 _'Stop, don't do it,'_ hissed the Snake Sannin silently at himself as he felt his body tense up. _'You can't put him through it again. He deserves to rest in peace! Think about what it would do to everyone.'_

"There is a way to resurrect Kakashi."

_At the same time in another realm, Kakashi shot up from his afternoon nap, looking frantically around._

_"Sensei?" wondered Sakura. "Is everything okay?"_

_"Laying back onto the grass, he stared at the cloudless sky, muttering: "Yeah, everything is fine._ _It probably was nothing."_   
  



	5. Chapter 5

_~Time skip a few days~_

"Uah!" yawned Naruto loudly and stretched himself. "I'm so excited to see Gaara again, dattebayo."

With sparkling eyes, the blonde jinchuuriki skipped next to his teammates, a nonchalant Genma and a depressed Obito.

"Sasori-senpai mentioned something about a new poison he invented," mussed Sakura and an evil smirk grazed her face.

Obito secretly tried to bring more distance between him and Team 7 and whined quietly: "I'm going to die!"

"I need someone to test my antidote on," exclaimed the pinknette at this moment and Obito paled even more.

"Minato-sensei," whimpered the Uchiha agonised.

"I'm not gonna be the idiot this time," Sasuke muttered resolute and crossed his arms.

Shuddering, he remembered the one time he had stupidly allowed Sakura to test one of her newly invented antidotes on him. Even though he hadn't died - which he was very glad about - he had been paralysed for three days straight. Sakura's antidote had worked in the end, but she had knowingly forgotten to tell him that the poison she had used was one of Sasori's master pieces. 

After he had gotten his movement back, he had chased his female teammate through Konoha, which hadn't been a very smart move on his end. Still a bit clumsy, he hadn't been able to stop himself, tripped over his own feet and ran face first into a brick wall. He had to walk throughout Konoha with a red mark across his face for the next couple of days because his wonderful teammate - please not his sarcasm - had decided to be sulky and not heal him right away. Apparently, he had made her experiment invalid when he had decided to chase her instead of resting. So no, there was no way he'd ever be her test subject again! Should she try it on Obito or Naruto, he didn't care. Well, he'd care about Naruto but there was Kurama who'd prevent Naruto from death.

"Not me, dattebayo!" exclaimed Naruto and hid behind Sasuke.

"Of course not," replied their teammate sweetly. "I still need you guys."

"Cut it out, Sakura," groaned Genma when Sakura eyed the other Uchiha sweetly. "Don't forget why we're really in Suna."

As if he had switched a switch over, the previous cheerful and teasing expressions of Team 7 changed to serious ones.

"Of course not," said the blond coolly, his azure blue eyes having lost their cheerful sparkle.

"Nobody will be able to come close to Gaara or Sasori," added Sasuke, the usual contemptuous Uchiha smirk playing around his lips.

Determined, Sakura added as well: "We're Team 7 after all!"

"Yes, you are definitely his team," whispered Genma with a melancholic smile as he thought back to the many situations Kakashi had made similar promises.

Meanwhile, Minato and his companions had finally arrived at the Kage meeting.

"We're here," muttered Jiraiya darkly as he immediately felt the pressure of having five Kage in the same place.

"Don't be so tense, sensei," replied Minato swiftly but left them alone as soon as he saw Rasa.

"It's easy for you to say," groaned the Toad Sannin. "You're not feeling any of it."

"Stop playing around, Jiraiya," hissed Orochimaru whilst at the same time Tsunade punched their whining teammate.

"Jiraiya, Tsunade, Orochimaru. It's nice to finally meet the three legendary Sannin," said a voice suddenly next to the white-haired Sannin, resulting in a high-pitched squeak of said Sannin.

"Ah, Mizukage-sama. It's nice to meet you too," greeted Orochimaru the small Mizukage politely.

"Did you have a good travel here? I've heard some worrying rumours," the Kage's pink eyes analysed the three Sannin slyly.

"Mizukage-sama!"

A brunette Kiri kunoichi hastened to the small Kage, a furious expression on her face.

Grinning innocently, Yagura asked: "Yes, Mei?"

"You can't just disappear! We might be on neutral ground, but you have still! Don't just leave without your bodyguards!"

Only now did Mei pay attention to the other shinobi around her Kage.

"Sannin-sama," she bowed slightly. "I'm Mei Terumi, adviser and right hand of Mizukage-sama. I'm glad the Hokage decided to bring you with him. Anyway, we must go now Mizukage-sama. The other Kage are waiting for you. After all, you were the one to call in this meeting."

"Of course, Mei. Until next time, Sannin," said Yagura before his adviser pulled him away. 

A shiver went down Jiraiya’s spine and even Tsunade had felt slight uneasiness being around the small man.

"Small people are creepily strong!" muttered the Toad Sannin shaken.

_'First Kakashi and now Yagura. It only shows that size or age are no bounds for power.'_

"Let's go as well," interrupted Orochimaru the thoughts of his teammates. 

Anyone who didn't know the Snake Sannin as good as his teammates did, would have missed the fleeting worried expression in his yellow eyes. However, since they had spent years together, Jiraiya and Tsunade knew that the Sannin had picked up on something that was reason enough for him to worry. 

Soon, the Sannin had entered the meeting room and took their places behind Minato and next to Shikaku. Secretly, Orochimaru glanced over every shinobi in the room. There was the Kazekage Rasa on Minato's left with Chiyo and Baki behind him. Next to the redhead sat Oonoki, the Tsuchikage with his granddaughter Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi. Then there was the Raikage A, glaring at everyone and visibly annoyed with the whole meeting. From Kakashi’s memories, the Sannin could identify the Kumo shinobi as C and Darui. And on the right side of Minato sat Yagura, the Kage who had initiated this meeting. Behind him were Mei, Kisame Hoshigaki and Mangetsu Hozuki, two of the seven swordsmen of the mist. 

_'There is not a single jinchuuriki here, except Yagura,'_ realised Orochimaru with shock. _'Not even the Raikage's brother!'_

Silence engulfed the already tension filled room and even the quiet chatter between comrades stopped, when Yagura stood up.

"Thank you all for agreeing to this meeting, even though it was on such a short notice."

"I still don't see the point in it," interrupted A the smaller Kage rudely. "I, for my part, have nothing to say to the Yellow Flash and to his allies."

"The war has been over for years now Raikage," mentioned Minato whilst wearing a fake, tight smile. "Kumo has caused Konoha a lot of problems back then, but we don't hold a grudge. Can't you just move on?"

Angrily, A stood up and slammed his fists on the table. 

"You've sent the Silver Reaper to us! That monster..."

"I suggest you think carefully about what you were going to say about my late student," intervened Minato murderously sweet, his azure eyes showing clearly that his patience was running dangerously thin. 

However, before A could retaliate and a rage filled fight could ensue between the Konoha shinobi and the Kumo shinobi, Yagura pounded his large club a few times into the ground, effectively drawing the attention back to himself. 

"We're not here to act like children. We all had conflict in the past but just listen to what I have to say now."

Huffing, A sat back down, crossing his arms in annoyance. 

"Now then," the jinchuuriki looked confidently at the other Kage and their shinobi. "I don't like to admit this but right now Kiri stands before a big threat. One that I'm positive some of you have encountered as well. Don't misunderstand me, Kiri still stands strong and we won't hesitate to prove it, if any other nation thinks we're an easy target."

Kisame’s shark-like smirk and the way he lazily carried Samehada with him, only strengthened the impression that Kiri was indeed not to be taken lightly. 

"Stop playing around, young one," demanded Oonoki grumpily.

From all of the Kage, he was the oldest and felt belittled by the younger generation.

"As you wish, Tsuchikage. Utakata, the jinchuuriki of the six tails, has been killed."

Deafening silence engulfed the room before a storm of screams and curses and threats erupted. 

Meanwhile, Orochimaru had almost gotten a heart attack. The news of the Mizukage had only given his worst nightmare form. Someone, presumably Zetsu and Madara, was out there killing jinchuurikis and strong shinobis alike.

"Quiet!" shouted A fuming.

The sight of an angered Raikage was enough to silence even the rowdiest shinobi.

"Though, I'm afraid this is not all," mentioned Yagura seemingly ignorant to the tension around him. "Takigakure has confirmed that their jinchuuriki, Fu of the seven tails, has also been killed."

"We've heard rumours of a jinchuuriki killer as well," admitted Minato and folded his hands, a worried expression on his face. "There is something else you should know. There have been recent assassination attempts on S-rank shinobi by a person, that is said to have chakra like the one of a jinchuuriki. One of the targets, a kunoichi of Ame, was able to survive and immediately notified us. It might be linked to the jinchuuriki killer."

An annoyed expression marred A's face and he muttered unwillingly: "Kumo has lost both of its jinchuurikis. Whoever they are, they were able to overpower my brother Killer B, jinchuuriki of the eight tails, and kidnap Yugito Nii, jinchuuriki of the two tails, from inside Kumo. I swear I'll kill the person responsible for my brother’s death!"

Hesitantly, Oonoki admitted: "The jinchuuriki of the five tails and the jinchuuriki of the four tails are also dead."

"So, we have someone or a group of people that kill jinchuuriki and S-rank shinobi alike, were able to infiltrate the great shinobi villages easily and have already killed six out of the nine jinchuuriki. And we don't even know what they are after," summarised Shikaku the news, his lazy tone long gone and replaced by fear.

"How's that even possible?" wondered Mei now that the advisers gave their input. 

"If Nara-san's conclusion is correct," Darui muttered, "than we face an enemy greater than ever."

"How can we even win?" asked Kurotsuchi afraid.

 _'Edo-Tensei!'_ thought Orochimaru unwillingly.

It was the first thing that came to his mind when looking at the situation. Differently to the others, the Snake Sannin knew what their goal was, presumably it hadn't changed from before. And as much as he hated to admit it, they were perhaps even weaker than they had been in Kakashi’s time. 

Obviously, they had Minato, Itachi, Shisui and Hiruzen but now they could die easily. There would be no immortality, no reviving them. They also had Jiraiya and Obito, but Obito was missing something very crucial; his Mangekyo Sharingan. 

Even though Team 7 would be together from the start, Sasuke hadn't activated his Mangekyo Sharingan or Rinnegan either and his lighting jutsu weren't as proficient as before. 

The only Uchiha who had been able to activate the Mangekyo Sharingan was Itachi. It had happened when he had seen Kakashi's corpse, sixteen years ago. The poor boy had only been five at the time. 

_'Though, Minato has made his decision very clear.'_

**_~Flashback~_ **

_"There is a way to resurrect Kakashi."_

_The silence in the room was deafening. Jiraiya and Tsunade looked at their teammate as if he had lost his mind whereas the Clan heads looked ready to keel over and Minato ... Minato was fuming._

_"What," he asked dangerously low, his gentle blue eyes attempting to kill the Snake Sannin slowly._

_Gulping, Orochimaru felt cold shivers run down his spin. It had been a bad idea! An unbelievably bad one!_

_"Orochimaru, what did you do?" asked Hiruzen his student threateningly._

_"I-I ... Edo-Tensei," the Sannin muttered carefully and warily watched the other shinobi reactions._

_"The Nidaime's forbidden jutsu?" wondered Jiraiya._

_"There is a reason it is forbidden you idiot!" hissed Tsunade, her hands pushed into her sides._

_"Explain," ordered the blond Hokage coldly._

_Minato prayed to kami that the Snake Sannin hadn't done something stupid._

_"The jutsu caught my attention years ago," admitted Orochimaru carefully._

_'A little lie won't hurt anybody. It sounds more realistic than the truth anyway.'_

_"The original jutsu needs a DNA sample from the person you wish to revive as well as a living sacrifice, hence, making it a kinjutsu. However, through years of research I managed to invent a similar version of Edo-Tensei but without the living sacrifice. The jutsu is still impossible to do for the ordinary shinobi and I'm not even sure if it will actually work. In theory it should but I've never tried it."_

_"So, you could basically revive any shinobi you want?", asked Hiashi incredulously. "Why do we only hear of this now?! We could be invincible! Just imagine having an army of immortal shinobi, no village would be able to oppose us!"_

_The usual emotionless man was brimming with excitement at the limitless possibilities._

_"Two things," snarled Orochimaru glaring at the Hyuuga Clan head. "One, I can't revive just any shinobi. Two, you haven't heard of it until now because even though it sounds like a gift from kami-sama, it isn't! It is cruel and inhuman and should never be used. It destroys the fragile balance between life and death. The jutsu takes away the freedom of these shinobi and causes even more pain to their precious ones. Or do you think it is mercy for the living to see their dead loved ones again? To see them again, to feel them, to be so close but at the same time so far apart. Do you think it is a gift?"_

_The Sannin had started to rant furiously. It was because of men like Hiashi and Madara - blinded by greed - that the world had come to an end once and people had suffered through more than bearable._

_"Exactly," Minato’s dark voice cut through the air, effectively silencing everyone. "It is not something we should play with. So, I never want to hear about it again. Orochimaru, if I find out you've revived anyone, you'll be punished accordingly. I can't erase your memories of your research and I won't take it from you as long as you never use it. The dead are dead and should stay dead!"_

_A pained expression crossed his face as he was undoubtedly reminded of his wife and Naruto's mother, Kushina Uzumaki._

_"I wouldn't have mentioned it, if I thought there was any other way," muttered the Sannin quietly, thinking about the pain Kakashi's revival would have brought to so many people._

**_~Flashback End~_ **

Minatoexchanged an unreadable look with his friends. It wasn't hard to guess that they all had the same thought. 

Shikaku was inwardly weighing up the pros and cons that such a decision could bring and no matter how hard he tried to look only on the facts, he couldn't push away the image of a laughing silver-haired boy watching the whole world from his fathers' shoulders. He felt like a monster only thinking about ripping the boy from his well-deserved peace. He feverishly searched for another way to win but no matter what he came up with, the probability of winning was always negative. And all because the boy had gotten interested in things that weren't meant for him. If the late Hatake had really investigated this threat sixteen years ago, he truly was the only one prepared for this fight. 

The Nara held eye contact with the blond Hokage, seeing the conflict in the azure blue eyes, and nodded slowly. 

Jiraiya and Tsunade had both thought about the consequences as well and reluctantly agreed. Whereas Orochimaru's thoughts were hidden beneath a passive mask. Minato was the last to fight with the decision. It went against everything he believed in! The image of a blood drenched and beaten silver-haired boy would always haunt him, could he really put the young boy through everything again? Though it seemed it was the only way...

"You've been quiet for some time now, Hokage. What's on your mind?" Yagura asked curiously. 

"I was thinking about a way to fight this mostly unknown threat," admitted the blond truthfully. 

Intrigued by the haunted look in the Hokage’s eyes, the small Kage leaned forward and pressed: "And did you?"

 _'Forgive me, Kakashi,'_ begged Minato his student silently.

"I did."

A laughed humourlessly and growled: "As long you can't bring people back to live or know someone who knows of this threat, there's no way we'd be able to win."

"But I do."

Minato’s words hung heavily in the air and every shinobi, Kage or not, stared at him incredulously. 

"What?" muttered Rasa perplexed.

The Kazekage had kept back during the meeting, having decided to let his ally handle the other annoying Kage but this was too much.

"I know someone who had been aware of this threat almost two decades ago, however, he died sixteen years ago," explained Minato slowly. "And we're able to bring him back."

"How the hell is that even possible?!" shouted A angrily. 

"What do you mean? Having knowledge of this threat for such a long period of time or reviving someone?" inquired Orochimaru wryly and stepped forwards. 

"Don't play games with me, Snake!" snarled the Raikage.

"You should be careful with what you say from this point on. Kumo's survival and your revenge might very well depend on what I have to say."

At the moment, Orochimaru didn't care whether he was threatening a Kage or not. Edo-Tensei was one of his greatest faults, even though he had improved the original jutsu, he still hated the idea of reanimating anyone, especially his friend. If he had even the slightest doubt that they didn't deserve Kakashi’s help, he'd stop immediately. 

Unwillingly, the Raikage sat back down.

"Go on then," he growled.

"Hatake Kakashi."

The simple mention of the name caused an uproar again, especially on Kumo and Iwa's side.

"Are you implying that the young Hatake knew about this threat when he was - what, eleven?" asked Yagura intrigued.

"He was thirteen when he started to investigate," lied Orochimaru swiftly. 

There was no way he could say Kakashi knew of this threat when he was like eight or something. Thirteen years was already quite young. 

"So, how can a dead child help us?" wondered Rasa but got interrupted by Oonoki's angered screams.

"That monster wasn't a child! He slaughtered our men at the age of ten!"

"Oonoki," growled Minato lowly.

The blond had had enough to listen to shinobi disrespecting his student.

"Let's listen to Orochimaru further," intervened Yagura politely and motioned the Sannin to continue. 

"I am able to revive Kakashi."

"That's ridiculous!"

"Could you just listen for a moment?!" hissed the Sannin at the two stubborn Kage. "Revive might be the wrong word because the person won't really be alive. They'll act like the person they've once been, but you can also take control of their actions, like decreasing their emotions and stuff. Also, they are impossible to kill. The only way to _'kill'_ them is when the summoner releases the technique, or the reincarnated souls are affected in an emotional way and break free of the summoners influence. The jutsu I invented is slightly different to the one of the Nidaime Hokage's. I could reanimate Kakashi, so he'd be able to help us."

"How does the jutsu work?" asked Rasa thoughtfully whilst at the same time A shouted: "Why didn't you say so sooner? We could have an entire army of invincible shinobi!"

 _'He's just like Hiashi,'_ thought Orochimaru disappointed. 

Why was nobody thinking about the consequences, the effects this jutsu had on the living? 

"I can't revive everyone."

If A thought, he'd revive Killer B, he had to disappoint him. Once, in another life he might have used the jutsu without remorse, but he wasn't the same screwed up shinobi he had been in Kakashi’s time. 

"So why did you even inform us of this possibility? What's in it for Konoha?" asked Oonoki warily. 

Taking back the lead, Minato replied: "Since we all face the same enemy, I think an alliance between the villages would be advantageous. I believe Yagura had something similar in mind when he called in this meeting."

The small Mizukage nodded swiftly and added: "Minato is indeed right, Kiri wants some kind of an alliance with the other villages."

 _'An alliance, huh?'_ thought Rasa and smirked slightly. 

It would certainly be help Gaara when he took over as Kazekage.

"I agree to an alliance," he declared confidently.

Now everyone was warily waiting for A's and Oonoki’s decision.

"An alliance would be very helpful, grandfather," whispered Kurotsuchi in Oonoki’s ear.

Grimacing, the old Kage nodded.

"Iwa will be part of this alliance."

All eyes were on A now, who had crossed his arms and eyes closed.

"B's murderer will be mine to kill," he growled and opened his eyes to glare at the other shinobi. "This is my condition."

"Of course," agreed Minato quickly. "We'll set out the details of the alliance later, but now that everyone has agreed we should decide on our next steps. To answer your question from before Oonoki, we brought up the possibility of reviving Kakashi because as members of the alliance you should have a say in it ... and we'd need your help with the jutsu."

"You say the Silver Reaper won't be able to die?" asked A loudly and Minato nodded slowly. "So, he's basically cannon fodder? I agree to this reanimation jutsu as long as he'll be sent to wherever we need him, no matter his age. He can finish suicide missions and we'll be able to save more of our shinobi."

"Isn't that a bit too much?" asked Minato coolly. "He'll still be..."

"A's right. I agree as well," Oonoki interrupted the blond rudely. 

"Everyone agreeing to revive Hatake-san lift your hand," Yagura said calmly.

A's and Oonoki’s hands were the first one to go up, slowly Rasa's followed even though he was more apprehensive then the other two. Smiling slyly, Yagura lifted his hand as well and Minato had no choice but to reluctantly lift his hand as well. 

"It's decided," the jinchuuriki clapped into his hands once. "Kakashi Hatake will be reanimated to fight for the alliance."

Meanwhile in Konoha, a certain purple-haired kunoichi had made her way over to the grave of her late boyfriend. 

"Hello Kakashi-kun," she greeted him softly. "How are you today? There is something I have to tell you because I want you to know, that if you had told me that our time was coming to an end, I wouldn't have let go of you. I've been wondering why it had to be you for years now, but everyone always just told me that you were a hero. So, I guess, Kami-sama really needed a hero up there, right? Someone brave enough to stand up for what they believe and follow it through, someone just like you. But why couldn't you be careful for once in your life?" 

Anko chuckled tiredly and kneed before the grave. 

"Do you know that I'm actually jealous of the people who get to see you every day now?"

Slowly, tears ran down her cheeks and she leaned her head back to look at the sky.

"I love you."


	6. Chapter 6

After the Kages had agreed to reanimate Kakashi, Orochimaru had explained the jutsu in more detail. Different to the Edo-Tensei it didn't require a living sacrifice but only a DNA-sample, something that had belonged to the person you wish to revive and a large amount of chakra. It was only possible with the combined chakra of at least five Kages. Even though A had disliked the idea of spending his chakra on the revival of the Silver Reaper, he had eventually given in. 

Tsunade had assured everyone that a DNA-sample of Kakashi was still in the hospital, so this wouldn't be a problem. The more problematic part was to find something that had belonged to the young Hatake. 

At first, you'd think that there were lots of things but when you actually tried to find something it turned out that there was basically nothing left from the child. Kakashi never had something that he had kept with him all time or that you could call his. The summoning scroll of the hounds, that Jiraiya suggested, belonged to the Hatake clan, not the silver-haired boy personally. The tanto he had inherited from his father long ago, had been lost when Hanzo had captured him and was never found. 

The entire way to Konoha, the shinobi tried to think of something. A had been so annoyed that he had cursed the Hatake the entire way. He couldn't wrap his head around the fact that such a famous war hero had nothing. 

It was only when they had arrived in Konoha, that Orochimaru remembered. 

The Snake Sannin hastily walked up to the blond Hokage and told him: "Hokage-sama, I know what we can use! If you'd excuse me, I'm going to get it and meet you in the office."

Without waiting he left the group and walked straight towards the Hatake's house. For a moment he stopped in front of said house, hesitating to enter, before he steeled himself and went inside. Hastily, he stepped inside Kakashi's room and looked around attentively.

"If I remember correctly...", he muttered and pushed the child's bed from its place.

Kneeling, the Sannin touched the floor, looking for the small hole that would loosen one of the wooden boards.

Smiling, he whispered: "Found it." and pulled one of the boards up. 

Beneath it was a small empty hole, only big enough for a small box. The Snake Sannin carefully took out the box. Taking a deep breath, he hesitantly opened it and was met with an incredibly old looking and tattered book and a faded square paper, which had to be a photograph a long time ago.

 _'Icha Icha Paradise'_ , he read out silently after dusting the tattered book and looked then at the faded photograph. _'The edges are burnt, and it has rips all over. You can't even make out the people on it, only that there were four of them. There's a little bit of silver and pink and blonde and black but no one should be able to identify the people. I can't use the book because the volume hadn't been released when Kakashi died and Jiraiya would no doubt become suspicious.'_

The Snake Sannin put the photo carefully away and hid the book again. 

_'Let's go,'_ he thought grimly and walked towards the Hokage office.

"You've got to be kidding me, Minato. You can't possibly be serious about this."

Fugaku leaned stoically against the huge double doors of the Hokage office, his dark eyes watching the blond attentively. 

Minato was aware that for the other Kage this must look like an act of defiance, but he couldn't bring himself to blame the Uchiha. Although he would have preferred it that he'd do it when no one else was around. After all, the Uchiha Clan Head would be directly affected by what was to come.

"We'll talk later," he tried to push the Uchiha Clan Head away and continue to lead his visitors and the Sannin - Orochimaru had joined them outside again - into his office. 

Just before Minato closed the doors behind him, Fugaku grabbed his arm, muttering: "Do you know how it will break them? They might not recover from this. I..."

"I know," whispered Minato just as quietly and pulled his arm away. "Believe me, I know."

The last thing Fugaku saw of his friend and Hokage before the door shut into his face, was the conflicted expression in his friends' eyes. Sighing, the Uchiha turned around. He had tried to stop it; all he could do now was pray that the appearance of Kakashi Hatake wouldn't destroy his family once and for all. 

Of course, Minato had thought about what bringing Kakashi back to live would do to them. 

Them.

The people closest to his late student. 

His friends. His team. His mother figure. His brother. His girlfriend. 

He knew it would open old wounds, wounds that had never really healed. 

Loosing someone without being able to say goodbye was harsh, though it was normal in the shinobi profession. Still, the regret stayed for decades, often for life. Perhaps, they'd be able to let go, now that they have a chance to say goodbye. He hoped so.

"Well, let's begin then," boomed A's voice through the office.

Putting a forced smile on his face, the blond nodded.

"Please begin, Orochimaru."

"Okay, Hokage-sama, Kazekage, Tsuchikage, Mizukage and Raikage please sit down and link your hands. This way it will be easier to transfer your chakra to me. You don't have to hold them for long, only until the process started. Afterwards you are free to get up, but you can't disturb me. Once I've started, I have to keep going," Orochimaru told the others grimly as he put the DNA-sample Tsunade got him and the faded photograph in the middle of the room.

Around him the Kages sat down.

"What's that piece of paper, Orochimaru?" asked Jiraiya curiously as he looked at the tattered paper.

"It belongs to Kakashi," muttered the Sannin distracted as he took Minato's and Yagura's hand.

Suddenly, the Kage felt their chakra get suck out of them.

Ten minutes later the feeling stopped, and Minato leaned back in exhaustion. Sweat drops lined his forehead and he was unnatural pale. The same could be said about the other Kage. Never did he imagine that the jutsu would almost suck him dry!

Though when he looked back at the Snake Sannin he couldn't help but feel respect for his actions. Even though Orochimaru looked just as exhausted as they were, he stubbornly continued with the process.

Suddenly, the office darkened and loud screams of Konohas citizens were heard everywhere.

Shocked, the blond hastened towards the large windows, only to step back in fear. The other Kage quickly went to his side to look at the cause for the uproar as well. Tsunade and Jiraiya, who had stayed back to watch over their teammate, were witnesses as all colour drained from the faces of the Kage. Even the tanned Raikage resembled a white paper. Exchanging a swift glance with each other, they left their positions and stood next to Minato.

"We're going to die," muttered Jiraiya breathlessly.

"E-evacuate Konoha," ordered Minato trembling, his eyes not leaving the over closer coming destruction.

Bijuu bomb.

Konoha had been confronted with a bijuu bomb before, but that...that thing that raced down on them was larger than anything the kyuubi had thrown at them. There was no sight of the once light blue sky nor the bright sun, all that remained was a pitch-black view.

Minato's orders went unheard in the panicked screams of the civilians and shinobi and even the Sannin stood frozen in fear.

"Sensei! Tsunade! Go lead the evacuation. Get everyone away from here. Tell them to leave their stuff and run. Try to find Shisui, he'd be a great help with his shunshin right now," shouted the blond harshly and got the others out of their shocked state. "ANBU team 3 and 5 will help in the north. ANBU Team 6 and 2 to the south, 8 and 9 to the west and 4 and 10 to the east."

The ANBU that had dropped down next to the hokage as soon as he had regained his senses nodded sharply and disappeared to relay the orders.

"Mizukage," Minato turned to the small Kage, a grim expression on his face.

"I'll try," replied the jinchuuriki immediately, knowing exactly what the blond had wanted to ask. 

Minato nodded gratefully before turning to the other Kages.

"Can I ask you to assist with the evacuation?"

"Of course..."

Rasa hadn't even time to finish his sentence as an ear shattering roar echoed through Konoha. Wide eyed everyone starred at the small figure that had turned into a beast and jumped before the ever-closer coming bijuu bomb. 

"Tailed Beast Ball."

Yaguras attack hit the bomb perfectly but against the growing hope of the villagers, nothing happened. Time seemed to stand still as the jinchuuriki desperately fired one bijuu bomb after another. Panting heavily, the small Kage dropped back down next to the other Kages where Mei quickly caught her exhausted Kage. 

"I'm sorry," he huffed out and leaned on his club. "It feels like that thing consists of numerous bijuu bombs combined. The jutsu has already exhausted my chakra reserves."

"I..." Minato starred shocked towards what would be Konoha's destruction. No enemy, no matter how strong or skilled, had been able to destroy Konoha since its founding days. However, it seemed as if his time as Hokage was cursed with disaster. 

_Meanwhile in another dimension, Kakashi participated in a mock battle with his students as he got a sudden headache. Distracted by the sharp pain, he was unable to dodge the combined forces of his three students and was thrown through the air._

_Groaning, he sat back up again as everything started to spin._

_'Did they give me a concussion or why am I feeling so dizzy?' he wondered confused._

_"Sakura..." he called out for his female student as he felt a sudden coldness rush through his body._

_"Sensei!"_

_"What's wrong?"_

_The three shinobi quickly kneed next to their pale sensei and Sakura immediately started to try to heal his head._

_"Why isn't it working?" she asked hysteric as Kakashi grimaced in pain._

_"Sakura." Sasuke whispered quietly and put his hand on her shoulder. "Look."_

_Confused the kunoichi stared at what the Uchiha showed her._

_"Teme, Sakura-chan, what is happening?" whispered Naruto as he looked with fear at the same thing Sasuke had showed Sakura._

_Kakashi's legs and arms had started to disappear._

_In a matter of seconds Kakashi had disappeared entirely and Team 7 was left with nothing but dust._

Just before the black ball of mass destruction touched the Hokage Tower - the highest building in Konoha - a dark silhouette jumped in front of the desperate shinobi. 

In utter fascination, Minato witnessed a true miracle. An armoured blue giant appeared out of thin air and grabbed the bijuu bomb as if it was a softball. 

Though it appeared, Minato had been too quick with his assumption because suddenly the blue giant was pushed back a few feet. 

Buildings shattered beneath him, screams sounded throughout the village and the blonde clenched his fists. So much destruction, so much death.

"Incredible," whispered Yagura in awe as the giant stopped being pushed back. 

And in the next second, the bijuu bomb as well as the blue giant disappeared in a blinding light and a single person landed in front of the exhausted Kages. 

When the man touched the floor, he stumbled slightly but Orochimaru was quick to catch him. Incredulously, the Snake Sannin stared at the man.

Something had gone terrible wrong with his jutsu!

The silver hair was the same, the chakra signature felt much older, but the core was still that of the young Hatake but the shinobi before him was no thirteen-year-old child! 

"Kakashi?" he asked hesitantly.

Looking drowsily at him was a perfect copy of the man he had seen years ago in the time travellers' memories. 

Grabbing his head as a sharp pain crossed his head, the silver-haired shinobi looked dizzily around the office. 

"Orochimaru," he muttered weakly. "What did you do?” before collapsing. 

Still shocked, the Sannin carried the exhausted Hatake to a rather comfortable chair.

"So ... what happened?" asked Minato sweat dropping as he stared wondering at his grown-up student. 

Frowning, Rasa added: "I thought the Silver Reaper died at the age of thirteen."

"Wasn't the jutsu meant to revive the child?" questioned A bitterly, thinking that a grown up Hatake would be much harder to control than a child. 

_'Is it because Kakashi is a time traveller?'_ wondered Orochimaru, though he refrained from giving the others another explanation than: "I have no idea."

Meanwhile, Anko hastened through Konoha, dodging broken roof tiles and rubble left and right, ignorant to the outraged shouts of the other villagers. Her mind was blank, and she felt that with each step she took, she was suffocating more and more. 

She had been at Ichirakus' enjoying a bowl of Ramen with Konan when the blue giant suddenly appeared and protected the village from a bomb. 

At the same time something else had happened. 

Suddenly a familiar chakra signature had appeared, causing her to choke on her food for a moment. At first, Anko thought she had finally gone insane, though when the feeling hadn't subsided, she had decided to get to the core of it. So now she pushed her way through a hysteric crowd towards the hokage tower, the source of the chakra presence. 

Breathlessly, the purple-haired kunoichi stormed inside the hokage office, not caring that there was currently an important meeting going on. 

The closer she had come to the office, the stronger the chakra presence had become. 

The chakra presence...the feeling of being safe ... it was the same as sixteen years ago...She knew that feeling like the back of her hand.... For years she had subconsciously searched for it...but it was impossible! 

Standing in the middle of the room - illuminated by the sun - was Kakashi.

Anko was frozen in place, unable to take another step. Suddenly, it was as if she had forgotten how to breathe. That person in front of her looked like Kakashi, but it was also not the young boy she had lost so many years ago. 

The time traveller had awoken only shortly before the purple-haired kunoichi had stormed inside the office and was now starring shocked at the woman. 

"...A-Anko..."

His hand subconsciously reached out for her but inches before he was able to touch her, she flinched away with a cold expression on her face.

"D-don't touch me!" she whispered numbly. "Just. Go. Away."

Turning on her heels she fled the room leaving behind a room full of perplexed people.

Kakashi stood still, vision blurring, and, in that moment, he heard his heart break. It was a small, clean sound, like the snapping of a flower's stem. 

"She doesn't mean that" muttered Orochimaru comforting as he grabbed Kakashi’s shoulder.

Turning around, the silver-haired shinobi smiled his typical close-eyed smile and replied cheerfully: "Never mind. Let’s get down to business."

 _'If it doesn't matter, then why is your chakra crying and howling in pain?'_ thought the Sannin sorrowful. _'Please, just stop pretending. We know it must hurt. Stop being the impeccable hero that everyone sees in you.'_


End file.
